Some of the groups represented in the counter demonstration were Progressive Youth Organization, Democratic Socialists of America, the Green Party and Kind KC. Red flags and hammers & sickles were prominent.

Protesters confront each other in KC: ‘March Against Sharia’ rally rebuked as anti-MuslimThe Kansas City Star, Eric Adler, June 10, 2017

Counter protesters on Saturday wore red and waved anti-fascist as well as communist flags bearing the hammer and sickle. They called those from ACT for America “fascist,” and yelled “Hey, Hey, ho, ho, fascism has got to go!” They represented a number of groups, including a chapter of the Missouri Green Party.

“When I was a kid, I leaned about the horrors of Nazis rising to power in Central Europe and Germany and thought, why didn’t good people stand up?” counter protester Nathan Kline, 49, of Kansas City said.

“Good people did stand up, but just not enough. I promised that any time that kind of nationalist, racist, fascist ideology would stand up in my community, I would stand up and say no.”

“This protest is anti-Trump, but it is more than just that. It is about sending a clear message on the day of his inauguration that we do not support his presidency. It is sending the message that we all stand in solidarity against the hate he has spewed, and we will continue to do so,” the hosts of the Facebook event wrote on their page.

When these Kansas City residents reached city hall, representatives from several minority groups spoke about their opposition to Trump’s presidency. Leaders from Kansas City’s Green Party, Progressive Youth Organization, Black Youth Committee, Proletarian Feminist Committee and many more appeared to address the large group of protesters.

Speakers rallied protesters at both the Liberty Memorial and Town Hall from numerous organizations such as Partnership for the Advancement of Immigrant Students, Black Youth Committee, Let’s Organize the Hood/Black Youth Committee, Progressive Youth Organization, Green Party, Squad of Siblings, Una Lucha, Kansas City Revolutionary Collective, Proletarian Feminist Committee and Young Democratic Socialists.

Select individuals also spoke on issues of immigration and issues faced by the Muslim community. Protesters ranged from all ages, genders, ethnicities, and backgrounds.

Protester Mary K. Prea, a 55-year-old retired woman, came to the protest motivated by her late uncle, Primitivo Garcia. Her uncle was a Mexican immigrant and the first person of Hispanic origin to have a school named after him in the Kansas City area.

Zay Thompson, the Outreach Coordinator of the Kansas City Heart Of America Chapter of the Missouri Green Party and Valorie Engholm, former Green Party candidate for Missouri State Representative in District 19 and co-coordinator for the KC chapter of the Missouri Green Party; have a seat at the Every Woman table to share their post-election thoughts from a Green Party perspective.

In the election for Jackson County Executive, Stacey Lindgren faces a big challenge.

Not only is she a Green Party candidate facing an incumbent Democrat – a party that has held the seat since the new county charter took effect in 1973 – she is facing a man with great name recognition in Kansas City Royals Hall of Famer Frank White Jr.

Lindgren, though, says she is unfazed by that.

“People know Frank White as a great baseball player. This is the first time the voters get to decide that Mr. White is the best person for the county executive job,” said Lindgren...

"It's really exciting, because we collected the most signatures that were ever collected for Green Party efforts in Missouri," said Zay Thompson, regional coordinator of the Kansas City area Green Party. "It makes all the days of [volunteering] in 100-degree temperatures worth it. Many people are discovering they were Green all along, once they discover who we are and what we're about."

“I decided to run for the House of Representatives because we need someone in office who will take head-on the needs and interests of the diverse communities in the 19th district,” said Engholm. “The people are sick of the two-party system and the constituents in the 19th district deserve a choice.”

In the press release, Engholm went on to advocate for new legislation designed to tackle the “failed” war on drugs, provide support for the LGBT community, and offer solutions to victims of rape and domestic violence.

The Green Party has gathered enough signatures to get on the Nov. 8 ballot in Missouri, and that’s added a candidate to what was an uncontested race for local Missouri House seat.

“I hear all the time, ‘I’m tired of the two-party system, I’m tired of the two-party system.’ We’re all tired of the two-party system,” said Valorie Engholm, certified this week by the Missouri secretary of state’s office to appear as a Green candidate in the 19th District.

The UAW Identity Crisis: Is It Still An Auto Union? Green Party Candidate Jill Stein on Labor, the Economy and ImmigrationKKFI, Hearland Labor Forum, July 8, 2017

The UAW now has 30,000 members who work at universities. They don’t think like autoworkers. This week on The Heartland Labor Forum we’ll ask if the UAW is headed for an identity crisis. Then, Green Party presidential Candidate Jill Stein came to town this week and talked to us about her vision for jobs and a more equal economy. She opposes voting for the lesser of two evils. Tune in to the first in a series on presidential candidate positions on labor. Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.